Angel Wings
by The Writer with a Reason
Summary: Wings. Not very often seen on people. There is but one living example of kami's might. And that individual's name is Naruto Uzumaki. The powers that come with them may just be a side effect though. Rating may change.
1. Just an average beating?

Naruto Uzumaki was a strange boy. He was not an average boy, no, far from it. But if observed by people who did not know him they would find his treatment appalling. However, Naruto did not know this at the age of five. He just assumed all the other kids were either lucky, or are spoilt terribly. It was very easy to make that assumption at the age of five.

But this is where our story begins. Naruto would, on some occasions, have to run. Now he was good at running, as he did it a lot. Not as a sport, but as the type where you run for your life. From a mob of angry people. In the Village of Konohagakure, this seems to be a regular occurrence for the blond knucklehead.

~~~~~_Flashback 1 Year Ago_~~~~~

_"You watch Jiji, one day i'm gonna take that hat off your head and where it 'cause one day I am gonna be the new Hokage! And then you can go do whatever you want to do after you lose the hat..." Naruto's brow crinkled in thought as he pondered what happened after you lose the Hockage hat. Shrugging off the thought, his sapphire blue eyes sparkled._

_He was at the moment sitting in the Hokage's office, accompanied by an old man. At first glance, without him wearing the Hokage hat and clothes, he could pass himself off as a decrepit old man. But that is not so, as he is actually the strongest current person in all of Konohagakure No Sato. "... Jiji are you listening to me?"_

_Startled, the Hokage ripped himself away from his thoughts, as he covertly wiped the blood that was dribbling from his nose and tucked away an orange book under the desk. "Ah yes, of course Naruto! I was mere__ly... looking at the fine scenery."_

_"But Jiji! We've seen it so many times before!" At that, the Hokage sighed. The boy's words may have a deeper meaning than what he realizes. Naruto just got out of the hospital from another of his beatings. They appeare to be getting worse as he gets older. The ANBU guarding Naruto are some of the best he could find, and hopefully this new batch did not hate the Naruto too much._

_It was all because of the Kyuubi. The demon fox attacked the village the day Naruto was born. Luckily, the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze was a seal master. Knowing that the Kyuubi is a beast of Chakra and, subsequently can not possibly be killed, he opted instead to seal away the beast. Unfortunately, Naruto's mother died giving birth to him, and his father... died during the Kyuubi attack. Minato used the infant Naruto of all people, and the blond Hokage successfully summoned the shinigami to seal the Kyuubi into Naruto. But, at the cost of his own life._

_Making himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the third Hokage of Konoha once again Hokage. And that brings him back to the current situation. He made a grave mistake telling the village of Naruto's burden. It was Minato's wish for the village to see Naruto as a hero. Instead, the Village used him as a scapegoat for all their problems. But to at least keep one shred of light left in the boy's life, he issued a law stating that no-one could speak of Naruto's burden to the younger generation, on pain of death. Although the law may be useless anyway, as the parents of children his age say to their children he 'is a terrible person and to stay away'. It truly was sad to say the least. He expected more of the villagers..._

_"Jiji! You zoned out again! Geez, you must be getting really old..." _

_The Old Man chuckled, "Oh, I am sure I have a few years left in these old bones Naruto."_

_Naruto just stuck his tongue out at the Hokage. "Yeah, whatever." _

_Suddenly serious, the Hokage leaned forward in his super-comfy-chair-of-doom. "But can you please promise me, Naruto, that next time you won't go running around during the festivals please? Next time, can you just come to my tower straight away..?"_

_"Sure Jiji! Of course I promise." Said Naruto with a huge grin. "But can I ask one thing?"_

_"Ask away Naruto."_

_"Can I have a cake next year? _

~~~~~Flashback End~~~~~

Never intending to break a promise, Naruto had started making his way over to the Hokage tower. I mean, what kind of Hokage would he be if he never kept his promises? As he walked along. He suddenly froze. Ahead, there was a corner. And around that corner, he heard what sounded like shouting. Never a good sign. Then the people rounded the corner. They actually had _pitchforks_ this time! How cliché...

It was almost as if they knew he was coming. Throwing the thought away in the heat of the moment, he quickly turned around and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Risking a glance behind himself, he gulped nervously and attempted to circle around them back to the Hokage tower. His house would not be safe at all at a time like this...

When he looked behind himself, he noticed that this time there were _four_ ninja's wearing masks this time! That is not a good sign, they are usually the fastest and the ones that inflict the most damage on him during his beatings.

_"On a lighter note,"_ he contemplated while running, _"from all the running I do I probably now look like a blur when I run. Heh..."_ Unfortunately, even that is not necessarily so. The skinny malnourished boy who eats-only-Ramen had unusually large stamina, but because he was kicked out of most stores, he didn't have the build to run too fast, so it only looked like an orange clad blonde was running down the street. As well as that, his blonde spiky hair and orange jumpsuit were oblivious 'kill me' signs... from the villagers point of view though.

He was pretty confident with himself, as he was sure that he could slip away from these villagers, but he hoped that he had enough luck today to slink away from the animal masked ninjas after him as they were _very_ quickly catching up.

Sadly, Kami hated him apparently so he/she/it threw more bad luck at him. Naruto rounded a corner into what he thought was a side alley to the Hokage tower, when actually it was a dead end. Cursing, he attempted to do an 180 degree spin, but the end of the alley was now blocked by one of those masked Ninja. Knowing that it was the only way out, Naruto sprinted over to the dead end wall and kicked off one of the side walls propelling himself over the dead end and onto a roof.

He _had_ picked up some tricks during his running sessions.

Not stopping to see if the ninja were following, he ran across the roof, and jumped between two adjacent houses with a gap between them. Almost tripping and face planting, he risked a glance behind himself. There were now _three _of those masked ninja following behind him, too close for comfort. But looking ahead, he could spot the Hokage Tower. _"I'm close! All I need to do is outrun these ninj-" _A hand grabbed his shoulder as he was roughly spun around to face a mask wearing Ninja. Up close, he realized the man (or so he guessed) was wearing a lion mask, and it was very easy to see the hatred directed at him from the eye holes in the mask.

Now grasping both of his shoulders, the ANBU tossed him to the ground, even though it was more than 2 meters down. With a cry, he flung his hands out to stop himself from breaking his neck when he hits the ground. His left arm made a sickening _crunch_ when he hits the ground and he cried out in pain. Looking ahead of himself he saw another masked ninja at the end of the dead end he now occupies.

Knowing he couldn't climb back up with his now broken arm, he backed into the far wall of the dead end and prayed. _"Oh no, I hope to Kami they will just leave me alone today. Oh Kami... please just tell me why they hate me so much?"_

With unanswered prayers, Naruto looked up. The crowd had reappeared again, along with all the uh, ANBU. All four of them. He shivered. Something told him that today the beating will be even worse than last time...

One of the ANBU threw a kunai and it hit, lodging itself in his right shoulder. Sticking a hand over his mouth, he held in a scream. He would not give them that much satisfaction.

Now the ninja's and the mob were upon him, and all he could hear were the cries of _"Demon!"_, or _"Kill it!"_. The latter things said disturbed him quite a bit. The villagers must be getting bolder...

Grabbing a sword that seemingly appeared from no-where, the ANBU impaled his leg on the pointy object. His tounge began to bleed when he started biting his tounge to stop his screams.

"What's that demon? Quiet? We'll make you scream so much you will wish the Shinigami had destroyed your soul!" Said one of the hysterical ANBU ninja, gathering vigorous nods from the other ANBU and the mob.

The ANBU then lifted Naruto off the ground and as if in tandem the other ANBU threw kunai at him, one after the other. The kunai did not hit vital points, no, of course not. They threw them into his arms, legs, and stomach effectively pinning him to the wall. Then they just stood back and admired their handiwork.

Naruto was hanging limply from the wall with multiple Kunai handles sticking out of him. _"Gah! Those must be some long kunai..."_ Naruto thought. When he finally had the strength to speak, he whimpered "Why? Why me? Why are you doing this to me?" A single tear fell from his blood splattered face.

One of the ANBU hesitated, before shouting "Demon! We are doing this because you killed our families! You are-" Another ANBU stuck up his hand in front of that ANBU effectively silencing him. "I think," said the oddly calm leaders voice, "that we will let the villagers have some fun..." The masked man stepped to the side, allowing the multitude of people to step forward.

~~~~~_The Hokage Tower_~~~~~

The Hokage was worried. It was now past 3:00 in the afternoon, and Naruto NEVER breaks his promises. The Hokage signaled to a hidden ANBU in a corner that wears a dog mask. "Kakashi, please go find Naruto and bring him here. I fear he is in danger." said the third Hokage. Kakashi sweat dropped at the informal language, but jumped out the window nonetheless.

Once out of sight, he pulled out a familiar Orange book but froze when he realized that he had finished the whole book already! No matter, he just had to get a new one from his house. _"Naruto can take care of himself for awhile I suppose..."_ and he took off on his way to his house.

~~~~~_Back with Naruto_~~~~~

Naruto was near breaking point. He was sure he would turn insane at some point during this beating, but that privilege never came. He never even got to escape the hatred by blacking out like he usually does. It appears as though one of the ANBU was proficient in poisons, as the owl masked ANBU stabbed him with a kunai dripping with a yellow substance. He supposed it stopped him from escaping the pain.

The pain. He had never felt anything like it before, and it was terrible indeed. If a bystander could look at Naruto now, they probably would have vomited. His hair hung from his head, but it could hardly be called blonde anymore. It looked more red from all the blood. He felt as if every bone in his body was broken, and moving now would be impossible.

Mustering the strength to look up, he felt rather than saw the villagers stop beating him. As his vision cleared, he saw what he supposed was the leader of the four ANBU. "Demon, today is the day we finally dispose of you. Then we can finally rid the Sandaime of your mind control... And you, will be _dead!"_ Said the more than slightly insane ANBU.

But then, just about everyone in this village was insane Naruto thought. "Die Demon!" Shouted the ANBU as he grabbed his sword and brought it down on Naruto's throat.

The world slowed down.

~~~~~_Unknown Location_~~~~~

Kami was worshiped as the creator, the god of all gods, the almighty one. So, it should be expected that Kami was powerful. Oh and Kami was. At this very moment - if anyone had the power to view gods that is, they would see Kami sitting on a throne of what looked like white mist, surrounded by, you guessed it - White. As in white that goes on as far as the eye can see.

Somehow, Kami got off the throne of mist-stuff and stood on the non-existent white floor. Kami, was in the guise of a man. Typically, he wore a white suit, with white pants, and white shoes. To top the look off, he was clean shaven with a head of straight _white_ hair.

Of course, Kami was not actually a man. Kami had no gender at all. He/she/it was mearly an omnipresent being, something that is simply _there_. But that was when Kami spoke. In a thundering voice that somehow sounded quiet and loud at the same time, Kami said "That boy... he truly is a peculiar one. I think... I may yet give him a gift."

_"And plus,"_ Kami added as an afterthought, _"Yami got away with making the Sharingan. Why can't I just add a teensy little change to this special human. Besides, if I don't help him now, all of our plans will be for nothing as he will be dead."_

Frowning, which was a peculiar sight on his stunning features, he thought of what to give the boy. And then it hit him. He knew just what to give the child! Even if it hasn't been done before - and it may end up killing him.

So Kami knelt on the ground, and put his hand through the hazy floor, as if to garb something...

~~~~~Back to Naruto~~~~~

Naruto was sad, in the last moments of life he contemplated how he is going to die. He always thought that he would die heroically on the battlefield as the Hokage. It seems as though that is just not to be. At least now he can finally have some rest. Hanging his head, he prepared for death.

But then, instead of the lethal strike to the neck, he felt an odd itching sensation coming from his back. Suddenly, his world was white. Thinking he had been killed, he tried moving. _"Hey... Wait a second! I'm still alive! But how?"_

Looking up, the whiteness appeared to actually be made of many things. It appeared to be made of... feathers? He tried standing up, but realized he was still pinned to the wall. Instead, the white-wall-of-feathers parted revealing the shinobi and civilians. It was not a pretty sight. To accurately summarize what he saw, Naruto would say they all looked like _cooked_ people. As if they were caught in a Katon Jutsu...

Suddenly, he started to feel more refreshed all of a sudden and he wondered why. Looking down, he saw the kunai _fall out_ of his wounds, where as the wounds seemed to being healing themselves. Amazed, Naruto looked behind himself for the origin of the odd itching.

He fainted.

For there, behind him, was a pair of big white fluffy wings. And they were connected to him.

A/N: Hey there! If you haven't already noticed, this is my first story, so you should expect maybe a few errors in the story. Namely, the perspectives (They got really messed up XD). After reading hundreds of stories, I feel confident to attempt my own story, and with the angel topic no less.

I remember reading hundreds of stories (on my search for the perfect author writer - one who always finishes his stories and updates fast - sadly I have not come across one, but I have come as close as I can... I hope you know who you are ;D) and I was inspired to write one of these stories, as all of them were just... not exactly what I was looking for. You know what I mean?

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg there will be many many more stories to come, (mostly on the 'Naruto' topic) and oh, will they be awesome. But for now, just sit back and read this story. It is going to be a looooong ride...

If you have read this far into the authors note write in your review "Pancakes".

But anywho, I know that Authors not finishing their stories are common occurrences. But, I will try my very best to complete this story, and the possible books to follow after it (Hint, Hint?). But anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for reading my story, reviews would be much appreciated so as to point out if anything went wrong.

And just a quick note here to tell you readers something about this story. I am writing as if people have never seen nor heard of Naruto before. As if this is an entirely new subject to many, I will start from the ground up.

Flames will be used for my hotdogs (YUMMY). Don't forget to review... I look forward to them ^_^ I hope to see you around faithful reader, so until next time...

Ja Ne!


	2. Waking up

He was lying on his face. _"Wait, my face? Why am I lying on my face?"_ Pushing himself up, he figured out he was lying on a bed. More specifically, a _hospital _bed.

Naruto never liked hospitals, they always reminded him of the beatings... But turning his mind away from that, he tried to remember what happened. Then it suddenly hit him and he froze. He slowly and carefully looked behind himself, only to 'eep!' and almost fall of the hospital bed.

There they were! Those... _wings_ were there - on his back! But why? Filing that question away for later, he tried to move them. It felt weird, as now that he thought about it, if he touched the wings, he could feel them. Like they were a part of him.

Were they? He also tried moving them, and that ended in mild success. They ended up fluttering around, but no real movements were made that was really wanted.

Suddenly, the door clicked and he looked up. On the other side of the room, and coming out of the door was none other than the third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Jiji!" cried the poor little boy with wings as he attempted to get up and hug the Hokage.

Unfortunately, it was rather awkward for the Hokage as he didn't really want to harm Naruto by crushing his wings. "Ah, Naruto! How are you? Feeling better?"

"Heaps thanks Jiji!" shouted Naruto with a massive grin. "But jiji, I need to ask. How did I get these... Wings?"

Taken aback by the sudden question, the old man struggled to answer. "Ah, well, you se Naruto... Er... To be honest Naruto, all we know about it is that it is some sort of bloodline that has never been seen before in the history of Kono-"

"All-right!" Shouted Naruto, "Now it is going to be even easier to become Hokage with a mystical _bloodine!"_

Chuckling, the aged Hokage responded, "Now Naruto, I am sure it will help you become Hokage. But first, we have no idea what it does so I am instructing you to practice with your newfound powers... It would be nice to see what they did". _"As long as you Don't blow anything up..."_he added mentally.

Receiving a sift nod from Naruto, the old man smiled. "But of course Naruto, we can't just let you walk around with _wings_, we need for you to hide them somehow, and I know just how to do it." _"This may also help you actually sleep at night too Naruto." _he added mentally. _"Thank you Tsunade!"_

The Hokage continued, "So I happen to be in possession of this nifty high-rank genjutsu-"

At the words 'high rank' Naruto's ears seemed to perk up.

"- that actually makes what seems solid changes to your body. Only myself, and one of my old students know of this genjutsu, so you mustn't tell anyone!"

"Of course jiji! My lips are sealed!" Nodding, the Hokage continued, "So this special genjutsu will add a very very small drain to your chakra, but you probably won't even feel it with the size of your reserves."

That startled Naruto out of his stupor. "Huh? But jiji, I don't remember unlocking my chakra..." The Hokage just smiled.

"Ah, but you did during your transformation... thing. On to other matters, to remove this genjutsu, all you have to do is make this hand seal," showing the boy the hand seal, he carried on, "and then you just say 'kai' to release the illusion! I slightly modified it for my own purposes I suppose..."

Nodding to Naruto and receiving an enthusiastic 'I'm READY!', the Hokage began a complexes string of hand seals. 1 minute later, the Hokage stopped the hand seals and whispered a phrase too quiet for Naruto to hear. Not feeling anything happen, he reached behind himself and gasped as he looked.

The wings were gone! Somehow, that gave him an uneasy feeling in his stomach. And then, given prompting and instruction from the Hokage, Naruto made the hand seal and with a quiet exclamation of 'kai', they were there again! Looking over at the now slightly fatigued Hokage, he smiled.

"But wait," Naruto asked, "How do I make the wings go away again?"

The Hokage's smile faltered. "Crap."

~~~~~_1 Day Later - From the Hokage's POV_~~~~~

It had taken him the whole day to figure out a solution to the problem. He would have completed it earlier had _someone_ had not been jumping around his room all day. Naruto was so hyperactive...

It was simple really, he's not called 'The Professor' for nothing! All he did was instead mark Naruto's right arm with the Kanji for 'Angel' (or at last that is what he told Naruto - it is actually much more complicated than that!) and whenever he wants to hide or bring out his wings - all he has to do is once again channel his chakra to his tattoo.

But finally waving goodbye to Naruto, he decided to leave and finally get some rest. After telling his assistant to not let anyone in, he sat down in his chair. _"Ah, who am I kidding..."_ Whipping out an orange book he began to read.

Suddenly startled by a blast of wind, he looked up at the window. But it was closed... Looking back at his desk, he screamed to the heavens. His paperwork just multiplied themselves! What sick joke from Kami was this?

~~~~~_Back with Naruto~~~~~_

Naruto bounced away from the hospital. After receiving what he thought was a 'bye' from the receptionist (it was actually a scowl), he began walking down the road to his house. Ignoring the glares sent his way, he approached his apartment. As usual, the windows were broken again, and the door was unlocked.

A nice new layer of graffiti covered the walls and floor and, over all, it looked appealing. To a homeless hobo. But Naruto learned when he was kicked out of the orphanage to be more deceptive. Underneath the carpet (he pulled it up with a hidden lever), was a hidden room.

He asked jiji one day if he could have a secret room under his apartment, as he was placed on the bottom floor of the apartment (why give the demon a better view?). Not seeing a problem with that, the Hokage picked a genin team that was indifferent - at best - to Naruto, and they hand crafted a beautiful underground shelter.

To be truthful, it was more of just a plain white room underneath his house with some gas lanterns (why give the demon electricity?), and a simple bed with a little bench and cupboard to store food and other belongings. It was a nice setup really, and he was happy that it _still_ was untouched by the vandals.

He reached into the cupboard, and grabbed his goggles. They were his favorite memento from his orphanage days. He found them one day when someone threw them into the bin. With just a quick shine they were good as new! Now, he wore them everywhere. Luckily he remembered to not wear them on his birthday.

Ah, what a terrible coincidence that was. His birthday just happened to be the day of the festival. What would he have to do with the Kyuubi being defeated? Who knew. Probably the villagers. Every time they would go to tell him why they beat him up, they usually stop themselves. Why would they do that?

Ignoring the annoying thoughts drifting through his head, he lay down on the bed. At least he could lie down properly. He sighed as he drifted off to sleep...

Hey guys! Sorry about the short chapter... I wanted to get the academy days all wrapped up in one chapter - next chapter! But anyway, I am glad you all liked my last chapter! To be honest, I didn't expect more than 1 or 2 reviews at the most for a few days break ;)

But I guess I should respond to the reviews. I fixed up just about all noticeable mistakes (most of them anyway - Personaly, I liked the line-break type things I use...), and all is well thanks to Saint Force (Note to... Him/her: Thvaluations he evaluation and pointing out the errors. But I think you were a smidgen to mean to me at the time. Tis' my first fic, and I need to people to give me a breakhave am still getting a good style of writing ;D - You woudln't happen to be an English teacher? Lol)

Thanks to all who reviewed too, I feel really warm inside when I see reviewers happy about my story ;D So keep writing!

(Note to grumbling readers: I am light speed typer - not really I prepared this before hand - just flick to the next chapter ;D)

Ja Ne!


	3. The Genin test

Yo guys! Two chapters in a row. I am a miracle worker, ne? But anyway, on to the story! ^^

Flying was his favorite pass-time. He didn't know why, but just feeling the wind blow by his face calmed him down so much. Of course, the old man told him to fly only outside Konoha's walls. But would 1 or 2 fly's close to home hurt that much?

It had been years since the start of the academy, and more so since the appearance of his wings. He had gotten really used to them, and he can't help but feel like he would be naked without them.

And he gained a few tricks along with the wings too... But that was a thought for another time. Tilting slightly, he landed on one of the many buildings on the outskirts of Konoha. He landed with the grace of someone who had done it hundreds of times before. And that made him quite good at it too.

Jumping to the adjacent building, he smiled. His running skills across the buildings were as sharp as ever. He had asked jiji to watch him do it, and the Hokage came up with one major problem. He had to gain enough momentum to effectively jump and run along a wall for a few steps before jumping to another ledge.

To remedy this problem, the Hokage taught Naruto a basic wall walking excerise he told Naruto was called 'tree walking'. Correctly named, he was forced to walk up a tree _without hands_, and only use chakra to stick to the tree.

To make a long story short, it helped him in his running, and he can now run across the entirety of Konoha almost flawlessly. Without touching the ground. It helps of course when he runs from ANBU. Like that one time he made a paint bomb, causing it took explode a mysterious pink substance everywhere while… the Hokage was reading his 'precious book'.

Needless to say, the Hokage was furious.

But today was the 'make or break' day. He would be attempting the genin test for the third time. It wasn't his fault. He always seemed to somehow get the wrong answers on his test sheet, even when the questions were _so easy_ just the second time through!

But the main problem, was the ninjutsu part of the exam. There was this one Jutsu, called a bushin, and he just couldn't get it right! He asked Iruka (one of his teachers at the academy - probably the only one who was actually nice to him) and he said it was because of the amount of chakra he had - he just didn't have enough control.

Arriving at his home, he opened up what was left of his door. Really, it was more like a splintered piece of wood hanging off a door frame. He had long ago given up fixing the door _or_ asking the Hokage for a genin team to fix his house. At least he didn't need to worry about nosy neighbors. People would rather sleep on the street than next to him apparently.

As usual, his house was in taters. The bed was torn up, the walls were covered with layer upon layer of graffiti, and there were plants growing through the windows (hopefully it will be something edible that grows on the plants). The only real thing that was untouched was the floor. The vandals wouldn't be able to get in without a proper floor, so they left it alone.

That was all fine and good with Naruto though. The hidden room was still alright! He had moved his bed over (or what was left of it) to cover the trapdoor every time he left the house. Pushing the bed aside and lifting the carpet, he opened the trap door. Everything was how he left it.

Going to the cupboard he grabbed a can of instant ramen. A few years back when the Hokage visited him, he had a talk with the hotel owner. Needless to say, he had electricity and a good microwave to heat up his food! Although he didn't really have much variety...

Actually, variety he did have! He had different types of ramen for sure! Opening the ramen up, he sighed. Mouldy. Again. Guess he would just have to go to Ichiraku's again...

~~~~~_Some time Later_~~~~~

Naruto sighed once again, this was becoming quite strenuous. "Naruto, is something wrong? You don't look yourself." Asked Ayame. Despite the hatred of the villagers, the Ichiraku's still liked him and never scorned him. The only reason he had instant ramen at all was from Ayame and her father who ran the stall on their own, and they sometimes gave him free packets for being a great customer.

"Yea, I'm fine thanks Ayame."

"Are you sure? You have only eaten eleven bowls..." stated Ayame nonchalantly.

"Yea, It's just that I have my genin test soon. It's today, and I am really nervous." responded Naruto.

"Aw, I am sure you are going to be alright." said Ayame.

"Yea, I guess you are right," said Naruto while flashing a grin, "I think I am just not that hungry right now."

Suddenly, loud hacking coughs and splutters we're head from the back of the shop. "Ah damn. My dad sounds like he's chocking on his own spit again..."

The hacking and coughing only increased in intensity.

"Sure, you take care of Teuchi!" Naruto called as he payed and left the ramen stand.

(A/N: One of my attempts at a joke. Don't scorn me. It is understandable.)

Brushing off the cold looks and hate-filled stares, Naruto advanced upon the academy. He was nervous. He practiced the clone technique all year, and still did not get it done really well. Once, he managed to summon 3 clones! And then when he tried again, he got only one bunshin. And that one had no arms.

Crossing his fingers, he opened the doors to the academy. After all, what is the worst that can happen?

~~~~~_Later that Day_~~~~~

He really loathed himself. _"What is the worst that can happen?" _Yea right. He had a written test to start off the genin exams. Luckily he remembered to study, and wrote down all the answers, feeling confident, he had rested. It was not until later on that he realized his test had been rigged with a genjutsu. It wasn't his fault that he was terrible at them!

Placing his head on his desk, he sighed.

And he looked up startled. "-aruto! Heloooo? Still there?"

"Oh, sorry Iruka-sensei, I just spaced out for a moment." Thinking back, he remembered the other portions of the tests. He had completely and utterly failed the taijutsu portion of the exam. The taijutsu portion focused on two genin facing off against each other... and Naruto was convinced that it was rigged. He was _forced_ to fight Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke, was mister doom and gloom, mister über-cool. Just because he was the sole survivor of a clan massacre and he had a fancy doujutsu that he might not even activate, doesn't mean he was automatically cool. The blonde haired Uzumaki didn't even know if the boy was straight, let alone an emo or not. _"I mean, he doesn't like any of them at all? Not even SAKURA?_

Now Sakura was a different matter entirely. To Naruto, she was the one and only. And she probably was the one and only person in the history of the world with natural _pink_ hair. But to Naruto, pink hair and yellow hair goes great together, along with blue eyes and green eyes... Right?

But Sakura was too occupied with the Uchiha to ever pay attention to him, short of a 'looser'. What did that duck-but haired guy have what he didn't? Yes, he had what looked like a duck but on the back of his head.

But back to the point. Sasuke completely pummeled him, after he asked him if he was gay and if he sliced his wrists in private. Of course, that enticed cheers from his fan girls... and fan boys...

Of course, all the other boy's patted him on the back out of sight of Sasuke and his fan club.

After the taijutsu portion of the exam, there was a portion were he was to throw kunai and shurikan at targets. Yes, he got blunt tools, but from the hours of practicing his aim, he still managed pass that portion.

Sadly, that made the ninjutsu part the portion of the exam were if he didn't pass it, he couldn't become genin because he needed to pass at least two tests. So it was a do or die scenario. He had already completed the henge and the kawarimi, two simple ninjutsu that were also required, and all he had to do was complete the bunshin.

Squaring his shoulders, he made the appropriate hand signs and with a shout of 'bunshin no jutsu', there was a puff of white smoke. Looking up, he sighed. He had two clones. One was deformed on the ground, and the other was very sickly looking but still standing.

"I am sorry Naruto, but you fail." Iruka said hopelessly. Even though he was the only teacher that was actually nice to him, Iruka still had the responsibility to do his job correctly.

"It's alright Iruka-sensei. I'll just... go now..." And he turned before anyone could see the tears threatening to fall down his face.

He swung slowly on the swing, back and forth, back and forth - but not really paying attention to what he was doing. All he could hear in his ears were the sound of other kids being congratulated and the quiet laughs and whispers directed towards him. Ah, the curses of his fine hearing.

_"Jiji would understand... that's it! Jiji is the Hokage, so I will just ask him to let me become a ninja! Why didn't I think of it before?"_ About to stand up, he felt a hand rest lightly on his shoulder. Stifling his shock at the sudden random contact, he looked up. It was his other teacher, Mizuki, and he was smiling at him.

There were two Chunin teachers that taught in a classroom, and his were Iruka and Mizuki. Although Iruka was nice to him, Mizuki often gave him the cold shoulder and/or was not so nice to him in class sometimes. So why was he being so nice now?

"Oh, hey Mizuki-sensei. Wacha doing?" asked Naruto as casually as he could.

"Well, I felt really bad when you were stopped from graduating just from the bunshin. So, I have decided to let try the test again, but using... _the re-try test_. Or at least that is what I call it." Stated Mizuki nonchalantly.

Suddenly excited, Naruto jumped up and down with joy. "Oh yes! Can I _please_ try it sensei?"

Smiling, Mizuki replied, "Why of course Naruto. All you have to do is..."

Smirking, Naruto jumped from tree to tree. The test was super easy! All he had to do was take the 'Forbidden scroll' and bring it to a clearing, and then learn one Jutsu from it. Then when Mizuki gets here, he would give it to him and he show him the Jutsu. Then he would be a genin! Although having the Hokage guarding the scroll might be overboard in his opinion.

But that was nothing with his skills! It was easily fixed by a quick 'sexy jutsu'! He would be genin in no time! Sitting down in the clearing, he read the first thing on the scroll. "Oh man! A _clone_ Jutsu? Ah, oh well. I guess I can do it if I try hard enough..."

True to his mission, he finished a bit short of one hour later and had the Jutsu mastered. And that was when things went down hill, because Iruka appeared. Looking up excitedly, Naruto exclaimed, "Iruka-sensei! I mastered one Jutsu! Does that mean that I can be a genin now? Do you need to see it? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Settle down Naruto! Why did you take the forbidden scroll?" asked a worried Iruka.

"Oh, Mizuki-sensei said that if I-" But Iruka was no longer listening. His blood ran cold when he figured out what had happened. _"Mizuki..."_ Neck suddenly snapping to his right, he pushed Naruto out of the way with a quick shout of 'look out Naruto!'.

Rolling, Naruto looked back at Iruka and gasped. He had _kunai_ sticking out of him! Where had they come from? Looking frantically around, he spotted a man in a tree with two giant shurikan strapped to his back. _"I knew this would end in tears..."_ Because there, sitting in the tree was his teacher Mizuki.

"Hello there Naruto. Now, if you would be so kind, please hand over the scroll and you pass." Mizuki said as he smiled thinly. Contrary to what commoners thought, Naruto was not stupid. Just a lack of proper teaching that is all. And he _knew_ where that kunai came from.

Tilting his head to the side, Naruto replied, "Of course Mizuki-sensei, but don't you want to see the Jutsu too?" Blinking, the shurikan laden teacher realized he left that part out...

"Oh, yes Naruto I forgot. Please, go over there and demonstrate and then hand over the scroll." Grinning, Naruto could not believe that Mizuki fell for that! As soon as he got over to where Mizuki was pointing, he would create quite a few clones and overwhelm him! _"Jeez, people these days are getting dumber and dumber..."_

Walking over to the spot, he failed to realize that there was an almost invisible wire running close to the ground, and when he tripped on it, he face planted. Looking up, he heard a whistling sound and he gasped. There was one of Mizuki "sensei"'s shurikan flying at him at high speed! And it was already half-way there!

Closing his eyes in resignation, he waited for the darkness to pull him in. It never came. Looking up, he was shocked to realize that there was a shadow standing over him, and it was Iruka-sensei. But that was not what shocked him, what shocked him was the fact that there was a shurikan sticking out of his back.

"Sensei...?" He asked, more than a little shocked that anyone would save _him_, of all people!

"N-Naruto, it's alright. You... You want to know why I saved you? I... did it because you are one of my students and... Because you remind me so much of myself. When I was young like you, I was a trouble maker and someone who was the class clown. And most of all, I was an orphan like you. So... I couldn't just sit back and let you be killed."

By now, both of them were crying. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Naruto remembered that Ninja's weren't supposed to cry. But he disregarded it immediately. Iruka... Iruka-sensei was the only person besides Jiji and the Ichiraku's that was nice to him. And for that... He would do anything for Iruka.

"You are his friend, Iruka? Yea right. Friends tell each other secrets. Want to know a secret Naruto?" Came the voice of Mizuki.

Shifting slightly, Iruka shouted, "NO Mizuki! It is forbidden! You can not speak of it!

But Naruto's curiosity was piqued. "What is it? What is the secret that everyone knows but me?"

"You, Naruto... You have the Nine-tailed fox_ sealed _inside_ you_!" Shouted Mizuki with an air of finality.

_"WHAT." _Naruto was in shock. Is that why the villagers hated him? Because they thought him the fox? No, it can't be! _"Wh- Why me?"_

"Naruto! Don't listen to him..! Just- Just run away!"

And run away he did.

"Naruto!" shouted Iruka as he ran across the trees, "I got rid of Mizuki! Quick, give me the scroll!" Not paying any attention to what he said, Naruto head butted Iruka into a tree.

"Ug." moaned Iruka, "How... How did you know -" he said as his form suddenly proofed into smoke revealing a different form, "- that I was actually Mizuki?"

"Because," said 'Naruto', "I am Iruka!" He yelled as he poofed into smoke too revealing Iruka leaning against a tree instead of Naruto.

"Oh, so tricky Iruka." Mizuki said, his voice laced with sarcasm, "I can easily deal with you and once I am done, I will take the scroll!"

"You- You'll never get away with it!" cried Iruka, while trying not to cough even more.

"Oh but you don't understand Iruka. Didn't you see Naruto? He is going to run away and use the scroll! That is what a beast would do! Don't you feel at least a _little_ angry at him for killing both your parents?" shouted Mizuki hysterically.

"Your right-"

Behind a tree, Naruto sighed and looked down. Did that mean that Iruka was just like the rest of them? He felt tears start to prickle at his eyes again.

"-That is what a beast would do. But Naruto is not a beast! He is a human being, not the fox! And you are not gonna hurt him!" Finished Iruka.

Naruto's eyes widened. Iruka DID care for him! Thank kami! And for a moment there, he thought he was like all the others...

Eye twitching, Mizuki sighed. _"What other junk does Iruka worship? This is so tedious..."_

"Ah, but how am I supposed to care about your stupid sentimentality? I was going to save you for later but it seems now that I am going to have to kill you just to stop your rambling." Mizuki grinned as he grabbed his last shurikan and spun it with his hand. Jumping forward, he prepared to strike Iruka with it.

_"Ah, so this is how it ends,"_ thought Iruka as he watched Mizuki come closed and closer, _"I just hope Nar-"_

Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement as _Naruto_ of all people appeared out of the trees and kicked Mizuki in the gut. Mizuki went flying and hit the ground a few meters away from Naruto and Iruka.

"Ah, so you think you can fight, huh? You're just an insignificant brat! You would not be able to lay a hand on me!" Mizuki yelled while getting up.

"If you lay a hand on my sensei... _I'll kill you!"_ Naruto whispered just load enough to hear, a 'fierce' expression on his face.

"Oh yea? Give it your best shot you stupid fox!"

"If you really want, here I go! **Shadow Clone Jutsu!**"

Mizuki just stood there, dumbfounded. This was _impossible! _How can he make so many of those tangible clones, all at the same time! For there, standing around Mizuki in a circle, was roughly a _thousand_ shadow clones!

"Come on Mizuki 'sensei'!" The clones all said at the same time. It was quite eery actually. "If you aren't gonna come to us, we'll go to you!"

A scream echoed throught the forest.

Mizuki's form lay battered and bruised on the ground, and Naruto stood over him as the sun started to come up.

"N-Naruto. Come over here please. I have something to give you. But please, close your eyes." Iruka said, sitting infront of a tree.

A few seconds later, Naruto opened his eyes. He felt his forehead, and his eyes widened. Iruka just smiled. Because on his head was Iruka's forehead protector, a sign of a leaf shinobi.

The light just shined brighter, with the sun more determined than before to make this a better day than the last... a new - and wonderful day.

A/N: Yo! How's it going readers? I am back with this great chapter, and I am glad I am finally done. Woot! Took me some time, but as you can see, it is all complete. I just really wanted to get the academy times before Naruto being a genin out of the way. The only other time you might see him in the academy would probably be next chapter, during the team picking.

Don't you worry though, they will be canon team pickings. I am not going to make any OC's if I can help it 'till much later on this story's storyline. And I won't jumble up the canon characters either ^_^

Now some of you have probably noticed that the Mizuki scene was done a little differently than cannon, and that was because I really just couldn't be bothered writing out all that droning on about past and other sentimentals. I just don't remember the Manga/Anime well enough to say it word for word.

But then, there are many authors who try to deviate from cannon on that part, but it is hard to do. Unless you want a Super!Naruto who owns Mizuki and knew the plot the whole time or having Naruto actually run out of there and make a completely AU story o.O'

In this story (if you have noticed) I didn't want to make Naruto as super dumb as he was in cannon, but in this story Naruto is not necessarily super, but he does get quite powerful later on, through hard trials like many others. He doesn't just get instant super powers and become god-like. He needs experience like anyone else, e.g when Naruto tripped on the wire. Naruto just seems quite dumb now because of... Spoilers, but that is to be told another time...

If any of you expect to see Naruto's powers, you may have to wait until the bell test, as something may surface during that time... But Naruto's powers will be gradually revealed, and he will gain even more along the way ^^

And now, some of you may scream that I bashed some characters a bit during this chapter (e.g Sasuke :P). But remember, that was done from Naruto's point of view.

As well as that, no offense to 'gay' people, it's just that there aren't so many 'gay' people in the Naruto universe (excluding Orochimaru), so it sounds like a legitimate insult.

But anywho, I have been going off-topic. What I mean to say is I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the _very_ long A/N, and if I missed some thing that you don't like/forgot to explain/other general errors, then please mention it to me in PM's or reviews! (reviews mostly as then I can feel so proud of myself! XD)

Thank you all for reading, and...

Ja Ne!


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